This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

The turbulent 20s laid bare onstage in Sabina Perry's Funny/Funeral

It may be just a number but, for many folk, turning 30 is a symbolic milestone. It’s a life marker that can seem daunting to those mourning the loss of youth but also liberating for those who can’t wait to slam the door on their turbulent 20s.

Sabina Perry, a Toronto-born dancer-choreographer who’s made Europe her base for more than a decade, emphatically leans to the latter view.

“Turning 30 was great,” says the tall blond performer. “It gives you the confidence to do exactly what you want. If you’ve made it to your 30s as a dancer, you’ve really made it! I hope my 30s never end.”

Now, Perry returns to Toronto to present Funny/Funeral, a pair of new works she describes as “a duet in the form of two solos.”

The two sections explore a common theme from different angles. Funeral for My 20s, which will be danced by Perry’s long-time friend, Toronto-based Molly Johnson, mobilizes a suite of iconic songs. Each is associated with an event emblematic of an often painful emotional learning curve. There’s the inevitable heartbreak, the bad choices and the business of picking oneself up off the floor and struggling on.

“It’s about digging up the past to bury it once and for all,” Perry explains. She also acknowledges that our past is always beside us in the present.

Funny Girl, the other part of this “duet,” performed by Perry, is more overtly autobiographical. Its format mixes standup comedy and dance. Poised at the mic, Perry explains to us how people always considered her “hilarious,” which is not necessarily a compliment to someone aspiring to be a professional dancer. Except, of course, Perry became one anyway, carving herself a respectable niche in Cologne’s dance-theatre scene. She also has a talent for standup, having honed her skills at a comedy festival in Germany.

Perry’s connection with Johnson goes back to the days when they became best friends in the three-year professional program at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. The last time they appeared together onstage in Toronto was the 2004 graduating class performance. Ironically, Acceleration, the school’s current grad class showcase at the Winchester Street Theatre, runs concurrently with Funny/Funeral.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...

Soon after graduation, Perry left for Europe. She recalls doing more than 50 auditions before landing a job in Rotterdam where she stayed for her first six years before moving on to Cologne.

“I really wanted to try something new,” says Perry. “I was really excited by the avant garde troupes from Europe that used to come through Harbourfront Centre. I thought to myself, ‘There’s so much I don’t know about’ and decided it was a chance to reinvent myself.”

Johnson hails from Baddeck, Cape Breton. Moving to Toronto was as much a positive culture shock for her as was Perry’s move to Europe.

“So here I was, already in a new place and getting enough work to keep me busy, but Sabina and I have always stayed in touch,” says Johnson, who won a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in 2013.

“I wanted us to reconnect as performers,” says Perry, who’d originally conceived Funeral for My 20s as a solo for herself but then decided to see what Johnson would do with it.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...

Johnson visited Perry in Germany and the two-year process leading to this week’s performances began.

Although Perry’s experiences inform the piece, Johnson says she has plenty of herself to bring to it.

Get more of the Star in your inbox

Never miss the latest news from the Star. Sign up for our newsletters to get today's top stories, your favourite columnists and lots more in your inbox

“There’s a palette of information Sabina has given me, but I go into my own memories and experiences, too,” says Johnson. “Many of the emotions — heartbreak, rage, intimacy, insecurity — are somehow universal.”

Funny/Funeral is at The Citadel, 304 Parliament St., March 30-April 2; http://colemanlemieux.com/ colemanlemieux.comEND or 416-364-8011.

More Entertainment

Top Stories

More from The Star & Partners

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com